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Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has said that not all hope is lost despite his team’s humiliating 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in Tuesday’s second round of the 2027 Group L African Cup of Nations qualifier.
Nigeria were outplayed at the September 24 Stadium in Bissau, just three days after defeating Madagascar 2-1 in Uyo to open their campaign.
The defeat means that the three-time African champions are second with three points from two games, while Guinea-Bissau maintains first place with six points from the same number of games played.
Reflecting after the defeat, Chelle admitted that Guinea-Bissau was the better team, but said the poor pitch and hot weather conditions took their toll on his players.
Also read: AFCON 2027Q: The Eagles were poor against Guinea-Bissau –Lawal
“They were more aggressive than us, they were better than us,” Chelle said. “Although this is not an excuse, they know their field, they normally play on this field, but for us it was the first time and the field was very bad and the weather was also very hot. So Guinea-Bissau entered the game more motivated, more aggressive, they put more intensity and we never found a solution.
“We tried to move forward after half-time, bring something new, but after 10 minutes we stopped and I don’t know why. But this is not the end because there are many games to play, we have two games against Tanzania in November and we have to win both. After that we have Guinea-Bissau in Uyo and we have to put them in the same conditions as we had here.”
The Malian added: “The situation is not very good, but I have a lot of confidence in my team, we have four more games and anything can happen, so we have to stay focused, calm, we know our strengths and weaknesses and today was a bad day for us, but I still have confidence in my team and my players.”
By James Agberebi
